After qualifying 23rd and having his No. 24 Chevrolet damaged during a run-in with Clint Bowyer in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage on Saturday, Jeff Gordon reversed his ill fortune in Sunday’s race.
Though he fought the handling of his car late in the race, Gordon held on for a ninth-place finish, improving 14 spots over his starting position.
“Honestly, that’s the kind of effort that this team has been putting in a lot lately,” Gordon said. “We haven’t been coming to the track in the position that we really feel like we could be, like we were last year. We’ve got some catch-up to do there; but, my gosh, one thing we’re not lacking is determination and just the ability to overcome adversity. I’m really proud of that.
“The car was actually pretty good. When they dropped the green, we were good for about the first half of the race. But the second half of the race, we just couldn’t keep up with the track conditions. I’m not sure exactly what went on, but we were just kind of holding on there at the end. But it was still a nice top 10.”
Source: Reid Spencer / NASCAR Wire Service
